High Flying Adored
by Sevi Snape
Summary: Hermione has everything she ever wanted, she is adored and yet she couldn't be more unhappy. She finds something at Hogwarts that she never thought would fulfill her.


Disclaimer: the characters are JKR's and the title and some of the dialogue is taken from the Andrew Lloyd Webber song of the same name, from the musical Evita .

High Flying Adored.

Hermione looked out of her window. She could see the vast land piece that she and her husband owned. It was impressive, not at all anything to be sniffed at. She hadn't married for this, it was a happy coincidence. An incredible coincidence. She had married two years after Hogwarts, at the age of 20, 6 years later and she was still married, maybe not as happily as she would have liked but still she was comfortable. It was Harry, which was her husband, the boy who lived, after Hogwarts he had really taken off. Fame had helped him become a Quidditch star and open his own Quidditch shop. Hermione herself had become a kept woman, choosing when and what she wanted to do. She had helped Gringotts break curses in Egypt, trained as a Healer, taught as a sub in Beuxbatons, been to investigate dragon sightings, and opened her own charity too assist poorer families with their children's education and give them support. The charity also counseled those who had lost family and friends to the dark side and gave homes to those whose parents had been killed. She had even done several shoots for PlayWizard, she was after all a Quidditch player's wife, she was in the public eye as much as her husband. Had achieved all of her dreams, had every book she could wish for, had everything. Except maybe true love. She loved Harry of course but she wasn't sure if she was in love him, she knew the difference. Currently she was bored. Nothing was a challenge anymore.

"Hermione! Are you ready?" Harry shouted up the stairs. 

They were going to a Hogwarts ball, a reunion and celebration of England's first Quidditch world cup victory; it was mainly to honour Harry. Hermione was adding the final touches to her outfit. Putting on earrings, spraying perfume and one last coat of lip gloss and she was ready, she had sleeveless dress robes and a wrap, also her small bag. 5 minutes later she was downstairs. Harry looked incredibly handsome.

"finally, come on I don't want to be late." Harry took her hand and apparated to Hogsmeade before Hermione could open her mouth.

 Hogwarts looked fantastic, majestic. The silhouette against the cloud dotted midnight sky. The grounds were swarming with people moving in unison towards the large doors to the entrance hall.

"Harry! Evening and well congratulations!" someone called from behind the couple.

"Remus! Hello. How are you doing? Oh yeah and thanks." Harry stopped walking and allowed Remus to catch up with them.

"I'll go ahead Harry." Hermione says and carries on walking; he doesn't even acknowledge her comment.

She reaches the entrance hall alone and looks around. Everything is the same as how she left it those eight years previous. The same banners, the same stones, the same doors and the same people.  
 

She was handed a champagne flute, pink champagne. This promised to be a very expensive party. She looked around at the other guests. Diamonds hung on nearly every woman, almost all the men were dressed in black dress robes. The current fashion among the women seemed to lean towards pale colors, pastels and creams. Hermione stood out in her red dress robes. House elves were wandering amongst the guests offering food and avoiding being trampled on. 

Casting a glance behind her Hermione could see Harry no were and so carried on to the great hall. She recognized several of the guests but could never quite put a name to the face. When they spoke to her she smiled and agreed with them before making an excuse and moving on. Eventually she managed to find her way to the edge of the hall, hoping no one would notice her. 

"Good evening Madame." Said a voice at her shoulder. 

She didn't look at who it was and pretending to be scanning the room for someone. 

"Who is it you're here with tonight?" the velvet voice asked.

"Mr. Harry Potter." She answered still not looking at it. 

"I don't understand, Mr. Potter is here with his wife."

"Yes that's right I am his wife," she turned to look at the man, "Mrs. Potter pleased too…. Professor!" she exclaimed.

"Miss Granger?" he asked incredulously. "But you're blonde!" 

"Yes," she smiled, "yes professor Snape I am, surely you read Playwizard, and if you did you would know I turned blonde."

Snape looked at her and raised one eye brow, a smirk playing in the very corner of his mouth.

"Ah yes now I remember, not quite the career I expected you do but your choice none the less."

"You have no idea how nice it is to see you." Hermione said glancing around the room at the sea of vaguely familiar faces. 

"Well I never thought I would hear that from you it has to be said." Snape offered her a small smile. 

"And how are you professor? You seem less bitter these days." She said solemnly before laughing and taking a sip of champagne.

"Please call me Severus; I think you're a bit old for professor now. Yes I am less bitter, I finally got the dark arts job, and it was well known that I desired it. I also finally got my wife to agree to a divorce." He finished with a slight frown. "But look at you! High flying adored. Rich, beautiful, the instant queen." He realized what he said and looked nervously into his drink. 

He had been drinking scotch since he arrived. If he was nervous or didn't want to do something then he drank through it. 

Hermione blushed slightly and looked at him. 

"It hot in here isn't it?" she offered. "And loud too. Would you accompany me to the grounds?"

Severus nodded and put his glass on the tray of a passing house elf. 

Outside the air was beautiful, sweet scented and the right temperature. Fairies flitted about and fountains spat out water that sparkled like glitter.  

Hermione stood and admired it all, not saying anything. Severus was desperately trying to think of something to say to save from his current embarrassment. 

"How is Harry?" was all he could think of. 

"Oh he is fine. Rich, famous, never at home, but happy all the same. I barely think he notices me anymore." It was now Hermione's turn to stare into her drink. 

"Did you ever think you two would come this far?" Severus asked gesturing towards a bench.

"I knew Harry would, I just seem to be riding his wave." Hermione sighed as she sat down. "I read the papers and I can't believe the stuff they print. I have been described as 'the lady of them all.' But my favorite quote has to be 'Hermione Potter - a cross between a fantasy of the bedroom and a saint.' All I did was help a few people and do a few photo shoots. I never wanted to do the photos." 

"Why do them then?" Severus asked, he had yet to take his eyes off her.

"Well its good publicity for Harry isn't it? They pay to see me naked and then they might come to his stores and buy things. Its some sort of advertising psychology, if they dress like Harry they think they will get a girl like me, or something along those lines."

"What do you want to do now? It's a shame you've done it all at 26." Severus said looking at her reaction. 

"I know." Hermione said sadly, "I've heard it from my mother." She did an impression of her mother. "'Nothing will thrill you, no one will fulfill you.'"

Hermione drained her glass and sighed heavily. 

"I hope you come to terms with boredom so famous, so easily, so soon, is not the wisest thing to be." Severus said wisely. 

"I know." Hermione said, a tear falling from her eye. "I'm not real anymore. I'm just something Harry uses to make him more popular. I'm not really pretty; I have witches that come to the house every morning to make me look like this. The hair, the face, the boobs. None of them are real, I'm just a Barbie doll that they dress to suit the part." All her feelings she had denied to herself for years poured out. "I'm not happy; I'm not in love with him. I am alone all day in a huge comfortable house. He doesn't sleep with me anymore, he probably off with his bloody PR manager."

Severus just sat and watched her.

"I loved you." He ventured slowly. 

"You loved me?" she scorned. " you thought I was a bossy little know it all, and now you see me as something you want to shag senseless."

"Well I did love you till you became so fake." He smirked at her. 

Hermione laughed through the tears. 

"You were brilliant, smart and beautiful, if a little annoying. I would have liked to have told you after you finished school but Potter had got you by then. So I just watched you climb onto higher and higher pedestals."

Hermione leaned forward suddenly met Severus in a kiss. He didn't move a mixture of alcohol and shock had numbed his reflexes. Hermione released him, trembling and shocked at her own daring. 

"What just happened?" she asked jumping up. 

"You kissed me."

"I was afraid you'd say that." She walked up to the hedge, ringing her hands. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm married."

She was beginning to panic and was getting nearly hysterical. 

"Hermione calm down, it didn't have to mean anything. You don't have to declare it." Severus said try to calm her. 

Hermione turned away from him and mumbled something. 

"What was that?" Severus asked straining to hear her. 

"I want it to have meant something. I want you to help me off the pedestal."

Severus looked at the woman before him, an icon of media perfection, stood with the world at her feet, her whole life before her and she was totally miserable. 

"But you have everything to do yet; you worked so hard to get here."

"I was stood in the right place at the perfect, filled a gap, I was lucky."

"One thing I'll say for you, no one else can fill it like you can." Severus said and contemplated her. "It's a long long way to fall Hermione."

"Will you catch me if I make the jump?" Hermione asked looking straight at Severus. 

"I will."

Hermione sat back down on the bench next to him. Tentatively she leaned forward, trembling slightly as she allowed herself to kiss him, falling into a dream of passion and romance.  

Now she was Hermione, not Mrs. Harry Potter, not PlayWizard girl of the month, not high flying adored. Just Hermione.  


End file.
